MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Representatives Hobgood-Wilkes, Barnett, Calvert, Carpenter, Creekmore IV, Currie, Estrada, Faulkner, Fondren, Ford (73rd), Gibbs (36th), Gibbs (72nd), Hale, Haney, Holloway (76th), Hurst, Keen, Ladner, Mangold, Mansell, Mattox, McCarty, McKnight, McMillan, Morgan, Owen, Pigott, Rushing, Shanks, Smith, Tubb, Varner, Wallace, Tullos, Horne, Lancaster
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-5, 49-7-9, AND 47-7-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE FEES CHARGED FOR HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES ISSUED TO PERSONS WHO ARE RATED AS HAVING AT LEAST SEVENTY PERCENT NONPERMANENT SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY BY THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION OR UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION ON WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS MAY NOT COLLECT AN ADDITIONAL FEE FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECOUPING ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS INCURRED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS FOR ISSUING A LICENSE SOLD TO SUCH A PERSON; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 49-7-3, 49-7-8, 49-7-12, 49-7-22 AND 49-7-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ARE SECTIONS OF LAW REGULATING HUNTING AND FISHING IN MISSISSIPPI, FOR THE PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-5. (1) (a) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a combination resident hunting and fishing license for the sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state.
(b) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident combination small game hunting and fishing license for the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs, together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing the license. The hunting license shall qualify the licensee to hunt and fish under this chapter all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.
(c) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish as provided by law, in any county in the state, and to hunt using primitive weapons and bow and arrow in the manner provided by law. The commission may notify the licensee of the expiration of his license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00) or One Dollar ($1.00), as the case may be, to the commission. A licensee who has not renewed the license within thirty (30) days after the expiration date shall be removed from the commission's records, and the licensee must apply to be placed on the renewal list.
(d) In addition to a hunting license allowing the taking of turkey, a resident who hunts turkey during a fall turkey season must purchase a fall turkey hunting permit for a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs, plus the fee provided in Section 49-7-17. A resident sportsman's licensee or resident lifetime sportsman's licensee may hunt during the fall turkey season without purchasing a permit.
(e) The commission may offer a resident apprentice hunting license for a resident who does not have the required certificate of hunter education and may set the fee for the apprentice hunting license. An apprentice license may be purchased only one (1) time by a resident and the apprentice hunting licensee must be accompanied by a licensed or exempt resident hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when hunting.
(2) (a) Any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, or any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic, or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession, a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities. A person exempt by reason of total service-connected disability, as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or who has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.
(b) Any resident who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi is not required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. The resident shall have in his possession and on his person any proof as may be required by the commission.
(c) All exempt hunting and fishing licenses previously issued for disabilities shall be null and void effective July 1, 1993.
(d) The commission may offer a youth all-game hunting and fishing license for exempt youths who have a hunter education certificate and an all-game hunting and fishing license for other persons exempted under paragraph (a). Youths and other exempt persons shall not be required to purchase this license or have it in possession while hunting or fishing. The commission may establish a fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for the licenses.
(e) The requirement for purchasing and/or having a hunting or fishing license authorized in subsection (1) of this section may be waived for any resident or nonresident who is an honorably discharged veteran with a combat-related disability and who will be participating in a special hunt, fishing trip or other outdoor recreational event that is available only to such persons as determined by the entity sponsoring the event. The commission is authorized to establish such criteria and/or procedures for an organization to be recognized as a sanctioned entity that provides unique outdoor recreational opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans. Any events sponsored by a recognized organization, and the persons participating in such event, shall be entitled to the waiver set forth above without further action on the part of the commission or the sponsoring organization.
(3) No license shall be required of residents to hunt, fish or trap on lands in which the record title is vested in such person.
(4) Any person or persons exempt under this section from procuring a license shall be subject to and must comply with all other terms and provisions of this chapter.
(5) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for the issuance of each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.
SECTION 2. Section 49-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-9. (1) (a) Each resident of the State of Mississippi, as defined in Section 49-7-3, fishing in the public fresh waters of the state, including lakes and reservoirs, but not including privately owned ponds and streams, shall purchase a combination small game hunting and fishing license as provided in Section 49-7-5 for Ten Dollars ($10.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Any resident purchasing a license as prescribed in this subsection shall be entitled to fish, in accordance with the regulations and ordinances of the commission, in all public fresh waters within the territory of the State of Mississippi.
(b) A resident may purchase a resident fishing license valid for a period of three (3) days for the sum of Three Dollars ($3.00), or One Dollar ($1.00) if such person is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(c) No license shall be required of any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years or who is blind, paraplegic, a multiple amputee or has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged totally disabled by the Social Security Administration. Such person shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities.
(d) A person exempt by reason of age, total service-connected disability as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or total disability as adjudged by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.
(e) Any resident who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi is not required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. Such resident shall have in his possession and on his person such proof as may be required by the commission.
(f) The requirement for purchasing and/or having a hunting or fishing license authorized in this subsection (1) may be waived for any resident or nonresident who is an honorably discharged veteran with a combat-related disability and who will be participating in a special hunt, fishing trip or other outdoor recreational event that is available only to such persons as determined by the entity sponsoring the event. The commission is authorized to establish such criteria and/or procedures for an organization to be recognized as a sanctioned entity that provides unique outdoor recreational opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans. Any events sponsored by a recognized organization, and the persons participating in such event, shall be entitled to the waiver set forth above without further action on the part of the commission or the sponsoring organization.
(2) (a) All persons fishing in privately owned lakes or ponds shall have specific permission to do so from the owner of such lake or pond.
(b) Residents do not need a fishing license to fish in those waters, except when the owner of the lake or pond charges a fee for fishing, then a resident must have a fishing license to fish in those waters unless exempted under subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The first weekend of "National Fishing and Boating Week" in June of each year is designated as "Free Fishing Weekend." July 4 is designated as "Free Fishing Day." Any person may sport fish without a license on "Free Fishing Weekend," and on "Free Fishing Day."
(4) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for issuing each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.
SECTION 3. Section 49-7-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-17. (1) The department may provide for the appointment of persons as license agents to sell license certificates for hunting, trapping or fishing as authorized under Section 49-7-21.
The department may, by administrative rule, establish qualifications, standards and regulations for such license agents.
(2) Each license agent shall be required to be covered under a surety bond. The department may establish, by administrative rule, the procedures for the bonding of its license agents, which procedures may include the implementation of a blanket bonding system. All premiums for surety bonds required under this section shall be at the expense of the license agents.
(3) Any officer or person authorized to issue any hunting or fishing license or permit or any combination game and fish license under the laws of this state shall have the power and authority to collect and retain for the issuance of such license the sum of One Dollar ($1.00), in addition to the license fee provided by law, when such license or permit is sold to a resident of this state. The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is authorized, in its discretion, to contract with license agents for services rendered for an additional amount, not to exceed One Dollar ($1.00), in addition to the license fee provided by law.
(4) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is authorized to establish, set and collect an additional fee for any license sold that will recoup the department's cost of issuing the license, conducting any electronic transaction therefor, and generally recovering the department's administrative costs of selling licenses and maintaining the electronic databases of those sales. However, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks may not collect such a fee for any license sold to a person who is rated as having at least seventy percent (70%) nonpermanent service-connected disability by the Veterans' Administration or United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
SECTION 4. Section 49-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-3. (1) Any resident of the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident fishing license.
(2) Any person domiciled within the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident hunting license provided in Section 49-7-5. The domicile of a person is that person's principal or primary home or place of abode. A "principal or primary home or place of abode" is that home or place in which a person's habitation is fixed and to which he, whenever absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure of absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of the absence. The burden of proving domicile shall be on the person claiming such status. The following evidence or other reliable evidence may be considered in establishing, but is not necessarily determinative of, domicile: driver's license, valid and current tribal identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe containing a photograph of the person submitting the identification card, residence for income or other tax purposes, homestead exemption receipt, or any other means prescribed by the department. In the case of minors, domicile of the parents shall be used as evidence of the minor's domicile.
(3) A nondomiciliary of the state may be issued a resident hunting or fishing license or combination resident hunting/fishing license upon providing the following:
(a) A current identification card from a Mississippi college or university; or
(b) A current military identification card showing that the person is an active member of the United States Armed Forces (excluding Reserves and the National Guard) and proof that the person is stationed on a military base in Mississippi.
(4) A nondomiciliary of the state may be issued a special Armed Forces fourteen-day hunting and fishing license with the same hunting and fishing privileges and at the same fee of a resident sportsman's license, if the nondomiciliary is an active member of the United States Armed Forces (excluding Reserves and the National Guard) and his application is approved by the department. The applicant must file his application for the special fourteen-day license in the office of the department. The department shall establish requirements for proof of active military status and any other requirements it deems desirable. The department shall not issue more than two (2) special fourteen-day licenses to the same applicant per license year.
(5) A holder of a resident or nonresident license is required to carry the license on his person while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing. Any penalty for not carrying a license while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing shall be waived if the person can verify purchase of a license prior to the date of the violation.
(6) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.
SECTION 5. Section 49-7-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-8. (1) No nonresident sixteen (16) years of age or older may hunt, fish, kill, take or trap any game animal, bird or fish without having acquired and having in his immediate possession a valid license issued by the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
(2) The commission shall have the following duties and powers:
(a) To prescribe the forms and types of nonresident licenses that a nonresident must obtain;
(b) To determine the total number of each type of nonresident license to be issued annually;
(c) To establish fees for nonresident licenses and the collection fees for the agent issuing such licenses; provided, however, that the fee for a nonresident all game hunting license shall not be less than Sixty Dollars ($60.00);
(d) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to develop a nonresident licensing program.
(3) A nonresident who violates this section or any licensing regulation of the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in Section 49-7-21(3).
SECTION 6. Section 49-7-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-12. (1) The commission may promulgate rules and regulations for nonresident recreational and commercial permits and licenses in order to promote and to enter into reciprocal agreements with other states.
(2) The commission may issue and prescribe the forms, types and fees of nonresident freshwater commercial fishing licenses to be sold by the department and not by licensing agents.
(3) (a) The commission may prescribe regulations for nonresident commercial fishing equipment, tagging requirements, harvest size and possession restrictions, restricted areas, fishing restrictions, reporting requirements, wholesale dealers, and the selling, reselling and exporting of fish taken in the public freshwaters of the state.
(b) The commission may exercise all powers necessary to regulate nonresident freshwater commercial fishing.
(4) The commission may require a nonresident to purchase the same type and number of freshwater commercial fishing licenses and pay the same fees that are required of Mississippi residents to engage in like activity in the nonresident's state.
(5) Any nonresident who engages in freshwater commercial fishing without having the required licenses is guilty of a Class I violation and punishable as provided under Section 49-7-141 and shall forfeit any equipment, gear or nets used in the offense.
SECTION 7. Section 49-7-22, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-22. (1) The commission may authorize the issuance of a multiyear license not to exceed four (4) years of any license issued by the commission. The fee for a multiyear license shall be commensurate with the total of the annual fees for the annual license for the number of years of the multiyear license.
(2) A person authorized to issue licenses by the department may collect and retain for issuing each license the fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.
SECTION 8. Section 49-7-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-23. The executive director may designate constables as deputy conservation officers, and constables so designated may be permitted to sell hunting and fishing licenses and may retain the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 for issuing each such license.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.